Mysteries & Thrillers
![Tiffany D. Jackson - [object Object] author](https://res.cloudinary.com/readsomnia/image/upload/authors/a_B01LCDGQ0Q.jpg)
White Smoke
The Haunting of Hill House meets Get Out in this chilling YA psychological thriller and modern take on the classic haunted house story from New York Times bestselling author Tiffany D. Jackson!
Marigold is running from ghosts. The phantoms of her old life keep haunting her, but a move with her newly blended family from their small California beach town to the embattled Midwestern city of Cedarville might be the fresh start she needs. Her mom has accepted a new job with the Sterling Foundation that comes with a free house, one that Mari now has to share with her bratty ten-year-old stepsister, Piper.
The renovated picture-perfect home on Maple Street, sitting between dilapidated houses, surrounded by wary neighbors has its . . . secrets. That's only half the problem: household items vanish, doors open on their own, lights turn off, shadows walk past rooms, voices can be heard in the walls, and there's a foul smell seeping through the vents only Mari seems to notice. Worse: Piper keeps talking about a friend who wants Mari gone.
But "running from ghosts" is just a metaphor, right?
As the house closes in, Mari learns that the danger isn't limited to Maple Street. Cedarville has its secrets, too. And secrets always find their way through the cracks.
* An Amazon Best Book of the Month * Parade's Best YA Books of the Year * Indigo Best Book of the Year *
Marigold is running from ghosts. The phantoms of her old life keep haunting her, but a move with her newly blended family from their small California beach town to the embattled Midwestern city of Cedarville might be the fresh start she needs. Her mom has accepted a new job with the Sterling Foundation that comes with a free house, one that Mari now has to share with her bratty ten-year-old stepsister, Piper.
The renovated picture-perfect home on Maple Street, sitting between dilapidated houses, surrounded by wary neighbors has its . . . secrets. That's only half the problem: household items vanish, doors open on their own, lights turn off, shadows walk past rooms, voices can be heard in the walls, and there's a foul smell seeping through the vents only Mari seems to notice. Worse: Piper keeps talking about a friend who wants Mari gone.
But "running from ghosts" is just a metaphor, right?
As the house closes in, Mari learns that the danger isn't limited to Maple Street. Cedarville has its secrets, too. And secrets always find their way through the cracks.
* An Amazon Best Book of the Month * Parade's Best YA Books of the Year * Indigo Best Book of the Year *
Editorial Reviews
"Thrilling, chilling, and utterly riveting. Tiffany D. Jackson crafts high-stakes tension, a deliciously creepy atmosphere, and characters you really, really hope make it to the end." -- Karen McManus, #1 New York Times bestselling author of One of Us Is Lying
"The creeps come on slowly, then start to build. When the cold shivers ran down my back, I wanted to scream-but I was too busy turning pages. I had to know: Just how frightening will it get?" -- R.L. Stine, author Goosebumps and Fear Street
"Tiffany Jackson takes the classic haunted house story to the next level by infusing it with her trademark twists and turns and her brilliant and unflinching prose. White Smoke is a gripping, unsettling, and incisive novel by a YA powerhouse who knows her thrills-and her chills." -- Courtney Summers, New York Times bestselling author of Sadie and The Project
"Jackson conjures horrors both supernatural and otherwise in a masterful juxtaposition of searing social commentary and genuinely creepy haunts, as well as providing an authentic portrayal of tensions within a blended family. Begs to be finished in one sitting, though maybe with the lights kept on." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Jackson delivers multilayered frights in a true horror tradition, peppered with instantly recognizable references to urban legends and internet horror culture." -- Publishers Weekly
"The nuanced depiction of Mari's struggle with mental health is emotionally resonant; the story of a mostly Black city nearly wiped out by draconian drug laws and gentrification is authentic and timely; and the simmering tension and jump scares make the horror element satisfyingly chilling... Jackson ticks off the best tropes of horror here with enthusiastic glee, and Ms. Suga will have more than a few readers checking their basements before bedtime." -- Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
Praise for Grown: "Gripping in both its content and format... Jackson's writing some of the best thrillers for teens these days." -- Booklist (starred review)
"Expertly juxtaposing the glamour of Enchanted's potential fame against the harshness of her private moments with Korey, Jackson builds the story gradually and painfully to an astonishing, chilling climax." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Compelling; Jackson excels in writing books steeped in social commentary."
-- Kirkus Reviews
"In another ripped-from-the-headlines novel, Jackson takes readers through a heart-pounding thriller exploring physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, misogynoir, and rape culture... t...
"The creeps come on slowly, then start to build. When the cold shivers ran down my back, I wanted to scream-but I was too busy turning pages. I had to know: Just how frightening will it get?" -- R.L. Stine, author Goosebumps and Fear Street
"Tiffany Jackson takes the classic haunted house story to the next level by infusing it with her trademark twists and turns and her brilliant and unflinching prose. White Smoke is a gripping, unsettling, and incisive novel by a YA powerhouse who knows her thrills-and her chills." -- Courtney Summers, New York Times bestselling author of Sadie and The Project
"Jackson conjures horrors both supernatural and otherwise in a masterful juxtaposition of searing social commentary and genuinely creepy haunts, as well as providing an authentic portrayal of tensions within a blended family. Begs to be finished in one sitting, though maybe with the lights kept on." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Jackson delivers multilayered frights in a true horror tradition, peppered with instantly recognizable references to urban legends and internet horror culture." -- Publishers Weekly
"The nuanced depiction of Mari's struggle with mental health is emotionally resonant; the story of a mostly Black city nearly wiped out by draconian drug laws and gentrification is authentic and timely; and the simmering tension and jump scares make the horror element satisfyingly chilling... Jackson ticks off the best tropes of horror here with enthusiastic glee, and Ms. Suga will have more than a few readers checking their basements before bedtime." -- Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
Praise for Grown: "Gripping in both its content and format... Jackson's writing some of the best thrillers for teens these days." -- Booklist (starred review)
"Expertly juxtaposing the glamour of Enchanted's potential fame against the harshness of her private moments with Korey, Jackson builds the story gradually and painfully to an astonishing, chilling climax." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Compelling; Jackson excels in writing books steeped in social commentary."
-- Kirkus Reviews
"In another ripped-from-the-headlines novel, Jackson takes readers through a heart-pounding thriller exploring physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, misogynoir, and rape culture... t...
Readers Top Reviews
StephBukola Akinyemi
White Smoke is a part classic horror, part psychological thriller that follows Marigold, a young lady as she moves to a new town with her brother, mom and her mom’s new husband and his daughter. It isn’t long before Mari realises her new home may have more ghosts than the one she is running away from. But with a past like hers, will anyone believe her? The classic horror elements were well executed and would translate well on screen, as the tension and timing were on point throughout. Admittedly I didn’t find it scary as such, but I don’t find horror scary. 🤷🏾♀️ However there were a couple of the themes that I was excited about diving into: •Living with anxiety disorder. •Racial disparities in marijuana enforcement in the U.S. (where Black people are 4 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than white people). Sadly, I did not feel that either theme was explored enough for me to feel satisfied, and parts of the racial elements felt like they were forgotten. My main issue was the portrayal of Mari’s anxiety disorder, having lived with it myself. It was clear that Mari had several complex mental health issues, which were thrown under the anxiety umbrella. There was also a half hearted attempt late in the book to show the downsides to Mari’s weed addiction. I found it negligent to not show that weed can trigger panic or anxiety attacks in some, especially since she spent half the book drooling for it. Then there was the fact that she kept saying she had ‘anxiety’. Everyone experiences anxiety and that alone is not a mental health issue. It’s when it becomes disordered that it is a problem and it’s important to know that feeling anxious isn’t a mental health problem necessarily. To make it worse, I didn’t like Mari. I didn’t like Piper. In fact, the only characters I liked were Sammy, Yusef and Buddy. The writing itself was good, I just wanted more. And I wanted a longer ending.
Jessica S.
Tiffany D. Jackson writes, White Smoke, a horror story sure to fill you with terror and dread, and the burning need to never ever move into a house people are terrified to even enter! This was a book that had me chilled from the very beginning, eagerly turning the pages and jumping at every sound both heard and imagined. This is a read to keep you reading long into the dark, quiet night. Marigold and her new blended family have moved into a quaint little house, after that everything that happened in her old hometown in California, a change was needed. But Marigold and her family aren’t what you would call the happy little Brady Bunch type. In fact, Mari can barely stand her new stepsister, Piper who’s ten and very whiny and almost diabolical. Mari wants nothing more than a quiet, simple life and to maybe get high. Yes, Mari is a past addict of sorts. She’s not a total druggie, but I was a little put off by her desire to find her next fix. She’s so desperate she tries to grow her own pot, as past experience tells her, you can’t trust any dealer to give you the right stuff. Her past issues do come about and explained eventually, but for the longest time I was trying to figure out how to connect with this heroine who literally wanted nothing more than her next high. Thankfully, there are other things to keep Mari occupied, such as the weirdness that is her new house. Strange smells, items going missing, random items that she and her family don’t own that are suddenly turning up, seeing shadows out of the corner of her eye, doors randomly opening and closing, and even more creepy a locked basement door (and yes, its door was one of the ones randomly opening and closing). If that wasn’t enough, Mari’s stepsister, Piper claims to have a new best friend who doesn’t like Mari living in HER house. What was truly terrifying at the start of this book was Piper. You know those movies with the evil child who always smiles when an adult’s back is turned…you know that evil, conniving kind of smile…yeah, Piper is like that! A child to truly terrify you with her ease of manipulating the adults into taking her side and leaving poor Mari getting constantly yelled at. Piper was truly frightening at times. What made things creepier though was all the ghostly happenings that Mari kept encountering. Naturally, they always happen at night and when Mari was alone. This book was so unbelievably creepy and yet I couldn’t get enough of it. There were other things happening when Mari wasn’t at home, like meeting the super cute boy, Yusef. Though Mari isn’t looking for a relationship with anyone at the moment, still smarting from everything that happened “before.” There’s also some seriously mysterious and shady things happening with the Foundation group that brought Mari’s mom and family to this free home. What that exactly entails...
Erika
I am such a big fan of Tiffany D. Jackson’s work. This book was as captivating as all of the others. I don’t normally read “scary stories”, but this was worth the exception. Jackson is such an amazing storyteller. I was so invested in this story. I couldn’t wait to see how it would all unfold. While I thought this book was amazing, I felt like there were too many loose ends left untied. I had so many questions at the end. I didn’t get the happily ever after that I was hoping for. I need at least one more chapter about Marigold and Yusef.
alicia nerdy
Creepy read with a twist or two. Also has some heavy themes such as phobias and drugs as well as mental health issues (anxiety). Sets up a spooky setting. I was reading this at night fearing I may even have nightmares I was so creeped out. It was a quick read for me because there was constantly something happening which kept me on the edge of my seat. The twist wasn’t predictable at all and my mouth dropped. I wish I could’ve gotten more info about the town and the Foundation. I feel like it was such an important part of the plot that I’m surprised we didn’t more..especially towards the end. The ending.. that fell flat for me. It felt extremely abrupt. I was looking through the book thinking, that’s it? It needed an extra chapter or two. I wanted more. Nothing felt resolved. Overall, it was a good read and I did enjoy it. Perfect read for October and spooky season!
